Trib: Meet Bobby Eveld, the new favorite calf of the USF Bulls

[USFishin]

Meet Bobby Eveld, the new favorite calf of the USF Bulls

By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune

Let's begin with what you're thinking. Let's state the obvious.

Bobby Eveld, the University of South Florida's true freshman walk-on quarterback, sure looks like a better fit for the Bulls' offense than B.J. Daniels.

Considering Saturday afternoon's extremely small sample size - Eveld's sudden emergence in USF's riveting 23-20 overtime victory against the Miami Hurricanes - we could easily fuel an emotional quarterback controversy.

Let's not - yet.

Let's not immediately suggest that Eveld is the long-term answer based on one game. Let's not trample on the two-year accomplishments of Daniels, a spectacular talent who is sometimes haunted by less-than-spectacular decision-making.

Instead, let's simply appreciate what just happened.

No matter what else Eveld accomplishes at USF - even if it's next to nothing - he will always have Saturday afternoon. He will always be part of a story that seems far too ridiculous for reality.

Last year, Eveld was an earnest Jesuit High School senior with zero major-college scholarship offers, despite his 6-foot-5, 200-pound frame.

Saturday at Sun Life Stadium, when Daniels was lifted at halftime because of a quadriceps injury and USF's 10-point advantage eventually evaporated, Eveld engineered one of the most remarkable triumphs in school history.

The most amazing part? No one was surprised. Not Bulls coach Skip Holtz. Not Todd Fitch, the offensive coordinator. Not any of his teammates, who have witnessed his work on the practice field.

And certainly not Eveld, who possesses the quiet confidence that comes with meticulous preparation.

"If a dog's going to bite you,'' Holtz said, "he'll do it as a pup. I thought Bobby Eveld stepped in there and showed some teeth.''

Eveld's statistics might look rather pedestrian - 8-for-15, 120 yards - but his best qualities couldn't be quantified. He threw it away when necessary. He threaded passes with pinpoint precision. He was particularly effective on the nine-play, 81-yard touchdown drive near the end of regulation, when he lofted two beautifully executed sideline tosses to Dontavia Bogan.

And in overtime, trailing by three points and needing a safe option, Holtz instead gambled on a double-slant call to Joel Miller. Eveld worked it between defenders, a few inches off the ground, where only Miller could catch it for a 9-yard gain that set up Demetris Murray's winning 1-yard run.

"You need a field goal, you've got a freshman quarterback and you're going to throw the ball over the middle?'' Holtz said. "I was on the headset and I said, 'Um, this is a stupid call.' "

Not really. Not with Eveld.

"Bobby kept his head and took care of the ball,'' Fitch said. "He'll be the toast of the town after this game, but he'll come in (today) and you wouldn't know (he had done something big). That's great makeup to have for a quarterback.''

"I didn't know what happened with B.J., and I thought Bobby was just going to take some snaps and hand the ball off,'' USF defensive end David Bedford said. "I knew he had it in him. But in this situation, to do this, it's unbelievable. I'm so glad we have him.''

Eveld had offers at Division II and Division III schools, but he liked his chances as a preferred walk-on at USF. In training camp, Holtz was shocked by Eveld's ability, which made him the easy choice to be backup QB.

So there he was, waiting all season for his turn, never dreaming it would come against a UM program that has five national championships. The Hurricanes are not playing to that level now. Time could be running out on Coach Randy Shannon.

But still, it's USF beating the Hurricanes - with a freshman walk-on quarterback, no less. Eveld's biggest cheerleader was Daniels, who provided constant encouragement and advice.

"It means a lot,'' said Eveld, who listed beating Tampa Catholic as his biggest football accomplishment before Saturday's upset of UM. "I was more excited than nervous. Once I got going, it was just a game, just doing my job, making plays and staying away from mistakes.''

With overtime approaching, Holtz pulled Eveld aside.

The words? "Let's go win this football game, take care of the football and execute what you know how to do.''

As usual, Eveld delivered.

If USF spoils Connecticut's Big East Conference championship plans on Saturday, then wins a bowl game, the Bulls will finish 9-4. That's a wonderful first season for Holtz. You could hardly write a better ending.

Eveld's future at USF? Let it play out. Let it breathe. In the interim, the USF brass might consider giving him a scholarship. Yeah, just a thought. After all, the kid helped rescue a season and re-energize the program's future.

Don't try to explain it. Just enjoy.

Link

[hbryan]

Some here knew he could be effective, not stellar, but effective.  Many on here discounted him as a nothing and not worthy of a second look.  Oh well, such is life in college football and fans that couldn't find their elbow with a roadmap.

[gobulls83]

Some here knew he could be effective, not stellar, but effective.

No, you knew nothing because you hadn't seen him play meaningful minutes. And he's still only played one half, against a defense that probably never even gave a moment's thought to the possibility that he would play as they prepared for the game.

I want whoever plays quarterback for USF to play well. I don't care if it's Daniels or Eveld or me or you. But this is the same stupid reactionary crap that leads to everyone getting pissed off in the first place. Bobby Eveld's performance in this game was not great. It was barely good. It was good enough to win, and better than most expected from a freshman seeing his first meaningful playing time. But there was nothing here to warrant this stupid smug attitude.

Eveld was no better in this game than Daniels was against Cincinnati, Rutgers or Louisville. He was no better than Daniels was last year against Florida State. So what happens now if he starts and blows up? Do we go through the same stupid ******* arguments all over again?

Is it too much to ask that people like you just shut the **** up and wait and see what happens for once? You must know one single half of football is not enough to make these kind of judgments. Right? People can't be that dumb, can they?

Many on here discounted him as a nothing and not worthy of a second look.  Oh well, such is life in college football and fans that couldn't find their elbow with a roadmap.

I'm pretty sure the position held by most of the people you're talking was that Skip Holtz is the only one in a position to form an intelligent opinion on this, so his decisions are all that matter, not trolls like you. But keep patting yourself on the back. Hindsight makes everyone Nostradamus, right?

[hbryan]

Some here knew he could be effective, not stellar, but effective.

No, you knew nothing because you hadn't seen him play meaningful minutes. And he's still only played one half, against a defense that probably never even gave a moment's thought to the possibility that he would play as they prepared for the game.

I want whoever plays quarterback for USF to play well. I don't care if it's Daniels or Eveld or me or you. But this is the same stupid reactionary crap that leads to everyone getting pissed off in the first place. Bobby Eveld's performance in this game was not great. It was barely good. It was good enough to win, and better than most expected from a freshman seeing his first meaningful playing time. But there was nothing here to warrant this stupid smug attitude.

Eveld was no better in this game than Daniels was against Cincinnati, Rutgers or Louisville. He was no better than Daniels was last year against Florida State. So what happens now if he starts and blows up? Do we go through the same stupid ******* arguments all over again?

Is it too much to ask that people like you just shut the **** up and wait and see what happens for once? You must know one single half of football is not enough to make these kind of judgments. Right? People can't be that dumb, can they?

Many on here discounted him as a nothing and not worthy of a second look.  Oh well, such is life in college football and fans that couldn't find their elbow with a roadmap.

I'm pretty sure the position held by most of the people you're talking was that Skip Holtz is the only one in a position to form an intelligent opinion on this, so his decisions are all that matter, not trolls like you. But keep patting yourself on the back. Hindsight makes everyone Nostradamus, right?

No, you're the same jackass who constantly berated our wideouts, our backups and everyone else on the offensive side of the ball.  I'm a troll?  You're a dipshit and you'll always be one. 

If someone is ineffective during a game, you replace him with the next best option to get a win, you don't ride a lame or faultering horse just to make a point.  It doesn't take a Nostradamus to figure that one out but I'm glad to see one of the (Bobby Eveld? are you kidding me?) naysayers has chimed in to act like the complete jackass that they are.  Congrats,.....................now shut **** up!

[RickUSF]

Some here knew he could be effective, not stellar, but effective.

No, you knew nothing because you hadn't seen him play meaningful minutes. And he's still only played one half, against a defense that probably never even gave a moment's thought to the possibility that he would play as they prepared for the game.

I want whoever plays quarterback for USF to play well. I don't care if it's Daniels or Eveld or me or you. But this is the same stupid reactionary crap that leads to everyone getting pissed off in the first place. Bobby Eveld's performance in this game was not great. It was barely good. It was good enough to win, and better than most expected from a freshman seeing his first meaningful playing time. But there was nothing here to warrant this stupid smug attitude.

Eveld was no better in this game than Daniels was against Cincinnati, Rutgers or Louisville. He was no better than Daniels was last year against Florida State. So what happens now if he starts and blows up? Do we go through the same stupid ******* arguments all over again?

Is it too much to ask that people like you just shut the **** up and wait and see what happens for once? You must know one single half of football is not enough to make these kind of judgments. Right? People can't be that dumb, can they?

Many on here discounted him as a nothing and not worthy of a second look.  Oh well, such is life in college football and fans that couldn't find their elbow with a roadmap.

I'm pretty sure the position held by most of the people you're talking was that Skip Holtz is the only one in a position to form an intelligent opinion on this, so his decisions are all that matter, not trolls like you. But keep patting yourself on the back. Hindsight makes everyone Nostradamus, right?

You're just trying to set this up for the big ol' "I told ya so" to stroke your own ego.  get over it.

Was Eveld reincarnated Tim Tebow out there?  No.  But he was consistent and efficient.  You're right, he was no better than BJ's best games this season, but he shows the potential to be CONSISTENT and with good game-management skills, something that we don't see from BJ enough on a consistent basis.  Give Eveld a chance and look beyond the scout/rivals star-rankings & scholarship offers.

[MikeG]

it was good to see him come through for us when we needed him. but as the coaches stated-- there were others guys who stepped today as well -- hope we can shake off some of these injuries before UConn. I would really like to see us knock them off their BCS perch.

all this other stuff about which fan knew he was capable etc is garbage though - more importantly is the coaching staff believed in him enough to give him a shot to get it done.

[smazza]

eveld looked pretty good too me

bj needs to really improve his passing acuracy to keep his job

there will be 5 guys competing for qb job next year

[Velcro]

eveld looked pretty good too me

bj needs to really improve his passing acuracy to keep his job

there will be 5 guys competing for qb job next year

I can't believe I am doing this, but I agree with Smazza.

BJ is a spectacular talent, running the ball.  But a hobbled BJ is not as good as a healthy eveld b/c Eveld has shown he can pass the ball well... where as bj's running ability is what opens receivers for his passing.  If he can't run, which it is obvious he can't right now, then he is just a qb without any touch.  I hate saying that b/c i really like BJ and he has been good for us, mistakes and all... but I was hoping they pulled bj both this week and last week as every time he had an opportunity to run, he didn't take it.  That is not BJ.

He really needs to work on his passing precision or I can see Eveld or someone new winning the job from him.  Right now, his a one trick pony without that trick.  His one trick is phenomenal.

[zarnozdabull]

Bobby Eveld's performance in this game was not great. It was barely good.

Dude WHAT are you talking about?!?!

His performance was excellent

[Cow Pie]

Eveld is a real quarterback... BJD is a running back that can throw the ball... we lost Cuse because BJD could not be a quarterback, all we needed was some basic quarterbacking talents and BJD was not there, same thing against Pitt and WV.

If Eveld came in earlier in the season then we most likely would probably be Big East Champs right now.